Guardian(Part II): Soulborne

Chapter 4: Nato

I heard the crackling of embers from flames as my eyes slowly opened. The aura of darkness from Kerathos was gone. I felt relief that I wasn't fighting the Archdemon of Pride anymore, but I looked around, seeing that I was nowhere near where I was fighting him. Last I remembered, I was in the snowy hills around Hearth. Now, I looked around to see that I was in a skeletal forest with the snow at the base of the trees. I also saw my leather armor laid out on a blanket next to a campfire. Was I... naked? I was also covered by a blanket, but I lifted it, and quickly lowered it as my face turned red. I wasn't wearing anything! A girl in a dress and corset was sitting on a log by the fire. She had blonde, curly hair, and had bright, purple eyes. She was playing on a small violin with a bow that had strings made of horsehair. It was a beautiful song she was playing, but I had a serious problem with a stranger finding me in the woods and taking off my clothes.

"Excuse me," I called. The violinist gasped as she looked my way, and she set her instrument down and rushed to my side.

"You're alive!" she cried. "What's your name?"

"Nato," I answered.

"I'm Daisy," said the musician, then she looked to my leather cuirass and said, "I'm guessing you're a Guardian."

"Yes," I confirmed. "Why am I...?"

"You washed up on the shore," Daisy answered. "I couldn't let you stay in those wet clothes."

"The shore?" I whispered. "Where am I?"

"Faudia," said Daisy. "Near the southern coast."

"Like, Southern Euradon?" I asked.

"Yes," Daisy answered. "There's a village nearby if you would like to go there for some proper warmth. After you get dressed, that is."

"Please?" I begged.

"I'll look away," Daisy promised.

I wasted no time picking up my leather cuirass and studded wraps while Daisy had her back turned to me. There was something wrong with my tunic, though. A cut was in the center, in the part that covered my heart. I remembered the size of Kerathos' greatsword. The Archdemon's blade was easily as thick as my heart was tall, and the cut in my tunic was as big as a heart would be. My first thought was that the greatsword wielded by the Archdemon of Pride had pierced through it, but it would have gone through my heart, and I still had my heart. There's no possible way that I was stabbed through the heart with a blade the size of Kerathos' black sword and lived. I shook my head to refocus myself. I put my cuirass and studded wraps back on, then told Daisy that I was ready, and I followed her into the forest.

"So, what exactly was a girl like you doing on the Sea of Suonan?" Daisy wondered. "Were you on a ship that was attacked?"

"No," I answered. "You wouldn't believe where I was if I told you."

"I can believe a lot," said Daisy. "Try me."

"Roah," I challenged. "Specifically, Hearth."

"Hearth?" asked Daisy. "That's right in the center of Roah. What the hell happened to make you suddenly appear from there in the middle of the sea?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," I admitted. "I must have warped a certain distance in a certain direction whenever I felt like I was in trouble."

"You must have been in serious trouble," Daisy guessed.

"Yeah, I was," I chuckled.

"So, your accent says you're Yeiwynese," Daisy observed, as a village came into sight. "And the Middle World Guardians have their own jurisdiction that doesn't include Southern Euradon."